Flowers in the Rain
by Smarty Cat
Summary: [Oneshot] Souta's birthday and the search for the perfect gift lead to Inuyasha and Kagome getting caught in the rain and experiencing acceptance in the language of flowers. ALL comments and criticisms are welcome.


**Please note: As of November 2011, ALL NEW FICS unrelated to previously posted works will be posted under the name Inverse Calico. A link is on my author profile.**

Behold the first Inuyasha oneshot I have ever finished and posted. It has not been proofread, however, because that would ruin my slacker reputation. XD

**Disclaimer****:** Inuyasha is the creation of Rumiko Takahashi, manga serialized in Shogakukan's Shonen Sunday, television series and movies animated by Sunrise, and distributed in America exclusively under license by Viz, LLC.

**Completed:** August 4, 2006

_For Kelly _

**Flowers in the Rain**

by  
**Smarty Cat**

Inuyasha inhaled deeply as the magic of the well faded around him. The scent of rainwater and fresh ozone had filled the air the moment his feet touched the earth of the future, strong enough that he was positive that even the humans could smell it.

He perked up noticeably as he cleared the well's edge in a single leap and bounded out the door. The plants on the shrine grounds were a particularly vivid green against the gray sky and water-darkened flagstones, and the lights of the house glowed welcomingly. It had obviously rained already and would again soon, and he bounded across the courtyard to avoid dirtying his feet and invoking the wrath of cleanliness-loving Mama Higurashi.

The hanyou was all but bouncing in his eagerness as he stepped into the entryway. He had come just to check on Kagome, make sure everything was okay, maybe play with her wonderful cat a bit. But rain was fabulous! Rain meant warmth and quiet and good food and a rousing video game duel with Souta while Kagome sat on the couch behind him with a book she was not really reading and idly stroked his hair.

He allowed his usually silent feet to clatter across the wooden floorboards, announcing his presence to the house's occupants and nonverbally requesting the enthusiastic welcome he was sure he was due. Immediately there was an answering clatter as Souta came flying down the narrow stairs and crashed into Inuyasha's stomach.

"Did you come for my birthday? You came for my birthday, didn't you? There's a special dinner tonight—what's your favorite food, Inuyasha?—but my party is tomorrow because of the rain. Kagome hasn't told you yet, huh? Can you stay until tomorrow? Oh, this is going to be great!"

Inuyasha stared in bemusement at the boy dancing in circles around him and all but bursting with joy. "Not curry," he said weakly, before glancing around helplessly. "Where is Kagome?"

"She's out shopping for Souta's present," Mama Higurashi answered over Souta's squeal of joy, coming down the stairs at a much more sedate pace than her son had. "She should be back soon, but I'm sure she'll be happy if you go meet her."

"But, Mama, what are we going to eat?" Souta demanded, grabbing Inuyasha's sleeve proprietarily.

"I'm sure I can think of something that you both will love. If Inuyasha hurries he might be able to help Kagome pick out your present," she added with a conspiratorial smile at the hapless inu hanyou in her son's clutches.

The boy's eyes widened dramatically, and he shoved Inuyasha towards the door with surprising force and threw a baseball cap at the hanyou's chest. "Hurry, Inuyasha!"

The old man was sweeping plant debris into a neat, soggy pile when Inuyasha stumbled outside. Kagome's most delightful fat cat was sprawled out on her back at the man's feet, swiping lazily at each pass of the broom. Jii-chan's eyes narrowed, and his hand lifted in greeting. "You survived the boy," he called.

Inuyasha snorted and waved a hand in the air in response as he started down the shrine steps. The shuffle of careful footsteps at his back made him glance back over his shoulder, however. The old man stood at the top of the steps, the cat now wound around his head. He pointed to the north with one hand while attempting to pull Buyo off of his face with the other. "She went that way."

"Thanks."

Inuyasha did not really need the directions, but they would make his search easier. He enjoyed the challenge of tracking Kagome in this environment. The future was characterized by a fascinating stream of varied and interesting sights and smells and sounds overlaying one another. So many people living so closely together and all the bustle and activity that accompanied them, the sheer excitement of wandering through the city, made it easy to become distracted, but Inuyasha felt surprisingly at ease.

The humans of the future accepted him in a way that the humans and youkai of his own time never had. Throughout his life, there had always been that one searing moment when he knew that ridicule was imminent in the way that they stopped and stared at him with horror, disgust, or disdain in their eyes. Kagome was different. She had met him squarely, yelling at him with all the outrage due her position but none of the hate omnipresent in all the others. Not only was Kagome different, her family and her time were different as well. Inuyasha was still amazed at the way he was simply accepted. People in Kagome's time tended to respond to his odd appearance in one of two ways: fascination or indifference. Most hardly glanced at his strange clothes and long white hair. The ones who paid more attention generally asked him what shampoo he used or whether he cosplayed.

Inuyasha had made a decision, although he had not shared it with anyone. When everything was over, he would stay there in the future if he could, stay with her if he could. If she and her family would have him. Inuyasha suspected they would, and the thought made tiny little bubbles of happiness swell in his chest.

Since the rain seemed to have put the entire world in a mellow mood and his own thoughts had left him barely short of euphoric, Inuyasha allowed himself to wander a bit. He made a conscious effort not to seek out Kagome's scent. It was not difficult because of the way the rain muted smells, and Inuyasha carefully studied his surroundings and compared it to the as yet rough but navigable mental map of the bits of the city immediately around the shrine that had been created during his previous jaunts with Kagome.

How well did Inuyasha know Kagome? How well could he predict her actions? What to the north of the shrine would attract her? Where did she go the times that she had taken him with her, and because it was the boy's day, what would be attractive to him? It was a new test of Inuyasha's skill: how well did he really know Kagome and her family? If he stayed with her, that would be important.

He thought of the cluster of busy, brightly colored shops that Kagome and her friends had dragged him to, the ones with the signs using huge and bizarrely distorted characters and the ones written in a foreign alphabet. They were not far so Inuyasha turned off on a series of side streets.

Despite the dreary early autumn day, the crowds grew steadily thicker the closer Inuyasha got to the line of stores. He walked down the row, looking through the front windows for a familiar stance and set of shoulders, but did not bother to go into any of them. He had no money and nothing to barter, and although his overall appearance did not garner negative attention in the future, he had learned that his lack of shoes would if he attempted to enter any of these public buildings.

The sheen of dark indigo caught his eye, and he drifted closer to a display window filled with kimono. One in particular drew his admiration. It was far more elaborately decorated than the kimono he was accustomed to seeing, with vivid, budding indigo flowers and their greenery spilling across a silvery blue background reminiscent of Kagome's eyes. Inuyasha pressed his nose against the glass, losing himself in the intricacies of the threadwork as he imagined the way Kagome would press her hands over her mouth if he presented it to her, the way her cheeks would flush when he glanced down at her walking beside him dressed so splendidly, the way she would shimmer in the moonlight and lamplight of any number of celebrations, the way—

"Inuyasha, what are you doing here?"

Inuyasha bit back a yelp and reeled backwards, quickly shoving his hands behind his head and attempting to look nonchalant. "I was looking for you."

"Well, I'm not in there," Kagome responded with dry amusement, stepping around him to see what had had him so enthralled. Her lips parted in a little "oh" of admiration.

"Do you like it?"

She looked over her shoulder at him as if he had lost his mind. "Of course I like it, but it costs more than the temple makes in a year."

Inuyasha deflated visibly, and she softened, tucking her arm around his and proceeding to steer him toward a door several shops down. "Come on. I still haven't found the perfect gift for the little brat yet. You can help me."

Inuyasha refused to budge, however, and she stumbled against him. Kagome blew her hair out of her face and stared up at him with her eyes narrowed. "What is it?"

"I can't go in there."

"Why not?"

The hanyou glanced around them quickly before gesturing quickly at his feet. Kagome blinked, and Inuyasha felt his face burn. "They won't let me in," he gritted between clenched teeth, jerking his chin downward.

Comprehension dawned in Kagome's eyes, and Inuyasha saw her shoulders quiver as she visibly suppressed her amusement. She patted his arm. "Well, if that's all it is, wait right here. I'll be back in a second."

She returned carrying a pair of cheaply made sandals with the promise to buy him a real pair of shoes for any future outings some other time, and Inuyasha decided that sandals were the greatest evil created by humankind. The strip running between his toes chafed and threw his balance off. Walking stiffly only made his dilemma worse as the smooth soles skidded on the wet street. Kagome grasped his arm again and guided him carefully toward a gaming shop, Inuyasha cursing under his breath the entire way. How did Miroku and Sango run and fight in the things?

The transaction went very quickly, and Inuyasha was flattered when Kagome asked him what Souta's favorite game was—"That one with the new edition he's been talking about"—and if the shop clerk had given them the correct item. Kagome mourned the new lightness of her wallet as she tucked the gift carefully into the depths of her bag, and Inuyasha eyed the sky warily as they started back towards the shrine.

"Kagome, do you have enough for an umbrella?"

"I don't even have enough left for a drink." She followed his gaze. "It's been raining sporadically all day, you know."

"It's about to start again."

"Are you sure it'll start before we make it home?"

He snorted and tugged at a strand of her frizzing hair. "Yes."

Kagome batted his hand away and abruptly changed direction. "What if we take a shortcut?" she called back over her shoulder.

Inuyasha caught up to her quickly, and they passed through several blocks of a quiet residential neighborhood before Kagome set off across the grassy slope of an expanse of parkland.

"Why haven't you ever mentioned this before?" Inuyasha demanded, yanking the hated sandals off his feet and wiggling his toes in the damp grass with a sigh of relief.

Kagome laughed back at him. "Because it's a shortcut."

"Ka-go-me," Inuyasha growled as the first drops of rain began to fall.

"I like walking with you," Kagome said, meeting his eyes squarely. Inuyasha froze, but she pressed on. "If we took shortcuts all the time we wouldn't get to walk together as much."

Inuyasha walked over to her, slowly pulling off his red fire rat jacket as he did so. He raised it over his head and stepped closer, until his chest pressed against her back and the cloth covered both of them. He stooped slightly, nuzzling her damp hair and murmuring into it, "I like walking with you too, Kagome. We don't have to have a destination when we do it."

Kagome relaxed into him, her arms twining around his to help him hold up the jacket. Her weight against him increased gradually, slowly forcing him back and revealing the flowers she stood over so carefully.

"Look, Inuyasha."

They looked like the fully bloomed star-shaped blossoms on the kimono, only white instead of indigo. He stared down at the autumn flowers, standing proudly even in the rain. Fully bloomed for past. White for death and mourning. Rain for forgiveness and new beginnings. And the flowers themselves… bellflowers… Kikyou. And there, nearly hidden by the shadow of their bodies, a single indigo bud for the possibilities of the future.

Inuyasha rubbed his cheek against Kagome's, his upraised hands shifting and enclosing hers with gentle pressure. She was familiar, warm, soft, comforting, beloved. Kagome felt like home. Kagome was home.

"Kagome?"

"Yes, Inuyasha?"

_Do you remember when I asked you to stay by my side? Can I stay by yours?_

"Will you dry my hair when we get back?"

She sighed and inhaled deeply, pressing her cheek more firmly against his. "Yes and yes, Inuyasha."


End file.
